Lt. Ryan Boutte poses with his family after the swearing-in ceremony in June at New Iberia City Hall. From left is Alyssa, 12, Cullen, 7, wife Jennifer, and Carter, 8. 

New Iberia Police Lt. Ryan Boutte left a comfortable job at the Abbeville Police Department to be part of the New Iberia Police Department earlier this year and hasn’t regretted it since. 

The 35-year old Forked Island native became a police officer in 2002 shortly after graduating high school, and stayed on with the Abbeville Police Department for 16 years. 

Although Boutte said he “kind of got recruited” to the NIPD by Assistant Chief Brandon Williams, who he knew when Williams was a Louisiana State Police trooper, he realized that being part of a brand new police department was a once in a lifetime chance. 

“I originally applied for lieutenant of investigations and never got a call back,” Boutte said in his office Friday afternoon. “I thought maybe it wasn’t meant to be. Maybe a month or so later, the assistant chief called me and asked how would I like to be a lieutenant of patrol.

“It took some convincing, but I haven’t looked back since.”

Boutte had spent the last six years of his career working in the investigations department of the APD, but patrol duty remains familiar for him since he started his career as a patrol officer. 

The month before the NIPD got rolling in New Iberia, police officers, including Boutte, spent a month getting the required training. Boutte said it was definitely an unforgettable experience. 

“It was good experience. It was different,” Boutte said. “I guess going from Abbeville to the city the size of New Iberia was different for me. People around here call it a small city, but it’s pretty big.”

As patrol lieutenant, Boutte said he supervises six other NIPD officers, two sergeants and four patrolmen. One of the most notable changes in his new role, Boutte said, has been the reception from local residents. 

“I’ll be honest, from the jump the people here have been outstanding,” he said. “These people needed police officers. Every day you ride around and you have to wave at a thousand people because they’re waving at you.”

A daily routine for Boutte is to ride in the morning through New Iberia City Park, a routine that usually includes at least one person stopping and thanking him. 

As far as future plans are concerned, Boutte said he doesn’t have any plans on leaving. The police officer resides in Erath with his wife Jennifer, and the two have three children: 12-year-old Alyssa, 8-year-old Carter and 7-year-old Cullen.

On his offtime, Boutte stays pretty busy coaching softball for Alyssa and assists in coaching baseball for his boys. 

“I’ll retire here, I’m pretty confident,” Boutte said. “I’m not one to move around. So far I like it, the council and the mayor, and our administration and chiefs and captains, are freaking awesome. You can’t go a single day without somebody thanking you.”

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